Afterimages
by Circular Infinity
Summary: Some moments in life stand out more than others leaving not only memories, but ringing ears and spots on your vision as well. A collection of drabble fics. Mostly Mal, but other characters as well, gen and het probably no slash, all ratings and spoiler
1. Final Rights

I've started writing drabble length (100 - 1000 word) fics and I thought I'd post them here. I'll be writing about all characters, but there will probably be more Mal than other characters. I'll mostly focus on canon pairings, and of that mostly Mal/Inara. Ratings will probably be PG or PG-13, but I'm not going to plan that. Don't expect them to be posted quickly. Neither will they be posted in any particular order. They'll go up as I finish them.  
The stats for each story will be posted with that story including rating, characters, category and spoilers.  
Please read, review and, hopefully enjoy as well.

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Title: Final Rights  
Summary: Mal, Zoe and Wash post _Serenity_.  
Characters: Mal, Zoe  
Category: General/Tragedy  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: Serenity (the movie), set post movie  
Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly.  
Author's Note: Enjoy and kindly review.

_Final Rights_

It's already almost midnight when Mal goes up to the bridge to find Zoe already there. He knows he should tell her to let it be; she could open the wound in her back - of course, he could open the wound in his gut and he's come up for the very same reason - but she's not just cleaning out debris. She's clearing it out to get to the body of the man she loves, so Mal stays silent.

Her face is set and her demeanor stolid. You could almost think that she's leaning over a stranger and not her husband, but only if you didn't know her. Mal hurts for her, because he does know her. He hurts for himself, because while it was the Reavers who killed him, it was Mal's decision - the one he didn't give anyone a choice in - that lead to this.

"Zoe," he says after a moment and isn't ashamed when his voice cracks slightly.

She looks up from her work, matching his gaze evenly.

_You don't have to do this_, his eyes say. _This is a duty that I'll take from you if you want_.

_I'm doing this, sir_. Her stare is as firm as the words it implies. _It's my right_.

"If I'm intruding you let me know," he says softly, "but in my mind, this is a job for two sets of hands."

Zoe just looks at him for a moment. "Two sets," she finally concedes. "But not three."

"No," Mal agrees, as he shuts and locks the door behind him. "Not three."

_Fin_

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Please, please, please review. Any kind of review is great. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.


	2. Ground Rules

Title: Ground Rules  
Summary: Mal has something to discuss with Kaylee.  
Characters: Mal, Kaylee; Kaylee/Simon implied.  
Category: General/Humor  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: Serenity (the movie), but small ones.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly.  
Author's Note: ...Um... I have nothing to say about this one. Thanks to who reviewed the first chapter.

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_Ground Rules _

Mal stopped Kaylee as they passed each other in the hall, telling her that they needed to talk.

" 'Bout what?" she asked.

"You and Simon."

Kaylee raised her brows. "What about us?"

Mal cleared his throat, crossing his arms as he did. "I'm sure you're aware that I don't care to have romances on my boat."

Keylee's eyes widened in disbelief. "No. You wouldn't."

Mal sighed. "However," he continued. "Seems to be a mite too late for tellin' you not to at this point. So here's the bottom line: I don't care if, when, or how you... are with him. You want to do it in the engine room, fine. Just don't... I just want to be able to walk into a place and know that's not what I'm going to see. At least have the courtesy to shut the gorram door! Dong ma?"

Kaylee had the decency to look only a touch embarrassed. "Right, Cap'n."

"Good," Mal said, and began to walk purposefully down the hall, obviously trying to distance himself from the conversation. "Glad we got that clear."

_Fin_

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Please, please, please review. Any kind of review is great. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.


	3. Aftermath

Title: Aftermath  
Summary: Sometimes all you can do is watch the aftermath unfold.  
Characters: Mal, Zoe  
Rating: PG-13  
Spoilers: Serenity (the movie)  
Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly.  
Author's Note: I got this idea while I was watching the movie for the third time. And sorry about the bad title. I just couldn't think of anything else that wouldn't be a spoiler.  
I put the translation of the Chinese at the end of the story.

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_Aftermath _

The second after the ship finally grinds to a halt and you realize that you're not all dead, the damn man starts talkin' again. No one's eyes are focused to the front so it comes as surprise to you all. One minute Wash is talking and the next moment your pilot is pinned to his chair with the biggest _gou cao de_ thing that you have ever seen.

You don't even see Zoe move. She's just out of her seat and by Wash. She's speaking, but you don't process the words. She's probably got no idea what she's saying either.

You want to help, but you don't know how. You can't even find anything to say, because you're not good with words. Ain't ever been good with words, not even when you pretended to be to rally the troops. Your hand inches up to give comfort, but you've never been good at that neither. Sure, you've seen people killed before, you've seen comrades - friends - be gunned down without thought, but this is different. You've never had to stand and watch as a wife realizes that her husband ain't ever going to get up again.

You're so frozen by the sight of it that it's not even until the movement of the Reaver ship outside catches your eye that you remember what you're doing. The next spike comes as quickly as the first, but this time you're ready for it. You have to physically pull Zoe out of the way 'cause she's so focused on Wash that for her there is nothing else.

Zoe struggles against you, wanting to stay with him. You don't know if you say anything then, or if she says anything back. You just know with dead certainty that you have to make both of you understand that now is not the time for this. Time for mourning will come, but it's time for action now. War's long over, but in this moment you feel closer to it then you have in years. You press Wash to the back of your mind and push Zoe down the stairs. She resists at first, but then runs forward ahead of you. Her movements are swift and solid, but it only makes you worry for her more.

What Zoe said was right. In time of war you leave no man behind. Not even the dead ones. You may be forced to leave their bodies, but they will always weigh you down.

_Fin_

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_gou cao de_ - dog fucking

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Please, please, please review. Any kind of review is great. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks. 


	4. The Delicate Politics of Authorization

Title: The Delicate Politics of Authorization  
Summary: Simon asks Mal for Kaylee's hand in marriage.  
Characters: Mal, Simon; mention of Simon/Kaylee  
Category: General/Humor  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: Serenity (the movie), but small ones.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly.  
Author's Note: I've read a couple of fics where some character, most often Simon, but I think I saw Jayne or maybe Wash, asks Mal if it's OK before asking whatever character they want to marry. It had always stuck me as very odd. Here's my response.

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_The Delicate Politics of Authorization _

When Simon asked Mal for Kaylee's hand in marriage, he was rather surprised - not to mention distressed - when the captain started to laugh.

"Simon," Mal said after a bit. "What the _guay_ hell you askin' me for?"

"Well," the young man floundered. "I thought out on the rim it was still a custom to ask..."

"True, some planets," Mal agreed. "If the one Kaylee's from is like that I rightly don't know. But she ain't there. None of us are. While I don't care for the thought that there will be even more complications on my boat, when it comes down to it, I really got no say. Point is, she's her own woman. It's up to her if she wants to get hitched to you. No one else."

"Oh, I know," Simon insisted. "I just... want to do this right. To do it..."

"Proper?" Mal suggested.

"Yes."

"Something tells me Kaylee wouldn't put much stock in that."

Simon gave a weak chuckle. "I suppose not."

"You gonna propose today?" Mal asked conversationally.

"Yes," the doctor managed after a moment.

Mal nodded. "Right then." He clapped Simon on the shoulder and gave him a brief, tight - or was it a wry - smile. "Just remember to breathe. Think she'll find it a mite odd if you pass out while askin' her."

"OK," Simon said. He took a jittery breath and let it out. "I guess I'll be... going them."

"You do that."

The doctor made the most dignified exit he could manage, trying to ignore the sound that followed him out. He couldn't tell if it was swearing, chuckling or both.

_Fin_

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_guay_ - hell

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I thought I'd posted this ages ago. Sorry it took me so long. Another drabble will be along in a few days. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review. Thanks.


	5. Yuletide Debate

Title: Yuletide Debate  
Author: Krypton288  
Series: Firefly/Serenity  
Summary: Mal and Kaylee on the subject of holidays on Serenity.  
Characters: Mal, Kaylee  
Category: General/Humor-ish  
Rating: G  
Spoilers: None  
Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly.  
Author's Note: When the New Year is mentioned, it refers to the Chinese New Year.

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_Yuletide Debate _

Kaylee was visibly excited when she found Mal in the cargo bay, but when she told him her idea he gave her a flat 'No' and started to walk away.

"But Cap'n," she protested, following him. "We never even made note of the day before."

"That gives us every reason not to start now." He slid open the door to the lounge area and started down the stairs.

"Everyone's been so gloomy," she said. "We need a thing to lighten folk up."

"And you think that'd do it." Mal ducked into the infirmary to place the small box of supplies on the counter.

"Yes," Kaylee said, following him in. "It'll be fun."

"Fun?" Mal walked past her and toward the stairs.

"Of course. It's Christmas!"

"Kaylee." Mal stopped and turned back to face her for the first time, one foot already on a step. "There's folk on this boat that ain't Christian." He started walking again, speaking as he did. "Seems to me excluding folk would do the exact opposite of what you want."

"Not necessarily," Kaylee insisted. "I read that at a time on Earth-That-Was they celebrated it without religion. Just presents."

Mal didn't bother to keep the shocked sarcasm out of his voice, as he turned the corner and went down the steps to the dinning room. "Christmas without all that praying? Who'da thought such a thing was possible?" He searched around briefly for a mug, missing the hurt look on Kaylee's face as he did. "I never stopped folk from doin' their own thing on their own, provided they do it..." He floundered for words. "Well... on their own. Don't see why this year should be any different."  
"This year is different."

Mal stopped, his hand half reaching for the coffee pot. "That don't make a difference in this matter," he said, resuming his motions.

"It makes all the difference."

Mal sighed and put down his mug with an unnecessary clang. "How 'bout we all celebrate the New Year instead?"

"But that's not for months!"

"All the more time to get ready."

"You're missing the point," Kaylee insisted.

"I don't want to turn my ship into some... Christmas thing."

"It can't always be 'bout what you want. Rest of the crew wants to celebrate it too."

Mal looked up at her sharply. "You spoke to everyone else first?" he asked incredulously.

"They got their hearts set on it," Kaylee said. "Even Jayne."

"Oh, well if Jayne wants to do it then what are we waiting for?"

Kaylee drew back, the hurt too plain for even Mal to miss. "Why you always got to be like this?"

"Like what?" Mal asked helplessly.

"You should know," Kaylee said shortly and turned to leave.

Mal mumbled a few choice phrases in Chinese and then called out to her, "Kaylee."

She turned back, unmistakably upset with him. He cleared his throat.

"Seeing as, as you report, the whole crew got their hopes set on this, then - just this once - we can do something bigger for Christmas," he conceded stiffly.

Kaylee looked at his in disbelief for a moment and then a grin spread across her face.

"But," Mal added quickly, "don't go thinkin' that this'll happen every year. And don't expect me to participate in anything."

"Of course not." She bounded back down the stairs. "Just you watch. It'll be shiny."

"Shiny," Mal repeated. "Just don't go decorating my boat so that it is actually shiny."

"Whatever you say Cap'n." Leaning forward and up, she placed a peck of a kiss on his cheek. "You're not such a mean old man after all." With that, she hurried out of the room, presumably to tell everyone else.

Mal watched her leave and, still muttering Chinese to himself, sat down at the table.

"I _am_ a mean old man," he informed his coffee, but the effect was ruined by how there almost seemed to be a smile on his lips.

_Fin_

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Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed and please review. Thanks.


	6. Asking You part 1 Wash & Zoe

Title: Asking You - part 1 - Wash and Zoe  
Summary: Three tenses, three people and three marriage proposals. (1/3)  
Rating: PG  
Characters: Wash and Zoe (and a bit of Mal)  
Pairing: Wash/Zoe; Het  
Warning: None really.  
Spoilers/Timeline: Set pre-series.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly.  
Author's Notes: I started this story after I posted _The Delicate Politics of Authorization_ and fair number of people mentioned that they'd like to see the Simon/Kaylee marriage proposal. As I started writing that I began to get ideas for the other two canon couples of the series. It quickly turned into this. The other two parts are written and are in the beta phase. I'll post the next two in a few days.

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_Part I - Zoe and Wash_

I didn't start thinking about marriage until someone else mentioned it. The three of us - Zoe, Mal and myself - were up at the bridge. I was sitting off to the side, forced to give the pilot's chair over to Mal so he could talk to our contact.

The aforementioned contact was seedy looking - even by my increasingly low standards - and I really hoped that Mal knew what he was doing dealing him. This kind of thing wasn't exactly what I had pictured when I signed on with crew of Serenity. There were days when I wondered why I didn't find another boat, but then I'd always remember I had reasons to be there. Especially one reason.

That reason was tall and beautiful and leather clad and happened to be standing behind the captain at that moment. She was the woman I loved beyond any and all reasons.

She was also the person the very annoying man on the view screen had started to talk about.

"Zoe married yet?" the man asked.

"No," the woman in question answered with a tone that was harder and heavier than the whole of the boat we were on.

"Aw..." the man slurred. "Such a waste a' such a fine thing."

"Don't take a married woman to constitute a fine one," Mal countered, clearly closing the subject.

_Hell,_ I thought, _I'd think it was pretty fine if she was married to me_.

I looked up at where Zoe was standing - well, it was more 'stared in admiration' - and she turned her head towards me at the same time.

I smiled at her and she gave a brief one back before turning once again to the conversation.

Mal continued with the negotiations, but by that point I wasn't listening. I'd known Zoe for a bit of a while by that point. Our official 'dating' - if that's the right thing to call it - had been going on for months and our relationship stretched back even further than that. I loved her. Completely, utterly and a whole lot more adverbs beside.

It was then I decided, _I am going to ask that woman to marry me_.

o

I didn't have a ring, but I didn't think that it would really matter. Neither of my parents ever wore rings. I wasn't even introduced to the concept until I started reading historical fiction. Since I started going out into the black I'd met people who still did. From what I could glean it was still a custom on some of the core planets.

I wondered if Zoe would care, but I didn't think so.

_No one does that anymore anyway,_ I assured myself.

Now all I needed to do was find a good time and place.

o

The opportunity came to me when I was looking over the plans for our job. The moon we were landing on was backwater with almost nothing on it - the precise reason the placed was picked - but we were to be there to almost two full days. Perfect.

The next time Zoe came up to the bridge I told her my idea.

"We'll have business there that'll take at least two days," I said. "Why don't you and I have dinner together. Just you and me. Off the ship."

Zoe smiled at me, clearly pleased with the idea. "I'll just have to ask the captain."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. She was always like that. You'd think he was her father.

"We're there for work," she reminded me. "Not play."

"Playtime won't hurt anything."

"I know." She stood and bent down briefly to give me a quick kiss. "I'll ask him now."

o

She took longer than I thought she would and didn't look particularly happy when she got back. For a moment I thought that Mal has vetoed our romantic getaway, but Zoe said that he'd given his permission.

"He just wants our minds on the job," she said, but I couldn't help but think that there was a little more than that.

I grinned - probably like a maniac - and Zoe smiled back.

"I should get back to work," she said after a moment.

"Right," I said. "Work."

She stood back a bit and just looked at me, almost the way she did just before we began seriously seeing each other. It seemed half-way between trying to decide something about me and something about herself.

"I'll see you later," she said and started down the stairs.

"OK," I called after her.

o

After another while of piloting, I adjusted the controls, set the autopilot and headed down to get some food. The door to the dining room was closed, but I didn't pause as I opened it.

Mal and Zoe were standing there. They stopped talking as soon as they noticed me and I didn't hear what the subject of their discussion was. Evidently, it left both of them in a sour mood.

"Hi," I said brightly, trying to break the tension.

Mal gave me a look that could have killed me if his eyes had been loaded.

"Hi," Zoe returned.

The captain just left the room.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Nothing," she answered.

o

We'd agreed to meet in the cargo bay and I arrived a few minutes early. Mal was there doing something captainy with the cargo and didn't even really acknowledge my presence.

"Gonna tell me not to keep her out too late?" I joked.

Mal looked up from what he was doing long enough to shoot me a glaring look.

"All right," I finally said. "What is it?"

Mal stood and turned.

"Never liked on board romances," he said even though I'd heard this sentiment from him before. "Got enough complications in my life without adding more."

"Aren't the lives in question are Zoe's and mine?" I pointed out.

"Do you love her?" Mal asked sharply.

"Oh, yes," I returned unquestionably.

Somehow, that answer didn't seem to make Mal happier about whatever he was thinking about. I would have pressed the topic, but Zoe took that moment to make a - rather grand in my opinion - entrance.

She was still wearing the leather bodice that she always had on. That I had expected, but she was also wearing cowhide skirt and that was something I had not imagined.

"Don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before," I said as she approached me.

"This was my aunt's," Zoe told me. "Never worn it before."

I eyed her gun and holster. "I think the sidearm really completes the outfit," I told her with a grin.

"Are you leaving soon?" Mal called from where he stood by the control panel, waiting impatiently so he could close the door behind us. "I got things to do."

Zoe obediently started down the steps. The skirt moved stiffly from side to side as she walked. It was very nice of her to dress up for the occasion, but I couldn't help but think that I preferred her tight fitting pants. I hurried down the stairs to catch up with her.

"Now don't you go gettin' drunk," Mal ordered us as we got closer. "And don't come back too late. We still got a job to do in the morning."

"We remember, Captain," Zoe assured him.

Mal must have been in a worse mood than normal, because he positively glowered at me as I walked by him. Zoe just took me by the arm and guided me down the ramp.

o

The restaurant - all right, it was really more of a bar... that is, completely a bar - wasn't really a place for a couple to find a quite place to sit and talk. We tried anyway. Dinner was... interesting to say the least. We decided to leave when there looked like a bar fight was brewing.

We walked back to the ship slowly. Half-way there we stopped to admire the sky. The sun had set long ago and the stars were bright. _This is it_. I could not ask for a better moment. I took her hand in mine and prepared to make a heartfelt speech. I drew in a breath...

"Wash?" Zoe asked.

...and let it out. "Yes?"

She cleared her throat and shifted her weight almost nervously to her right.

"I have something to ask you," she said, as if she was admitting a huge secret.

"Then ask away," I told her. "Never fear, I think there are very few things that you could ask me that I'd say no to."

Zoe grinned and gave a low laugh. She ran her free hand up my arm. "I love you," she told me.

"I love you too," I returned, and leaned in for a kiss. After minute, I pulled back. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

Zoe tensed up slightly again. Her hand tightened around mine and she looked at me, right in the eyes.

"Wash," she said after a moment. "Will you marry me?"

_Fin_

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Thoughts? Comments? Criticism? Love to get reviews. 


	7. Asking You part 2 Simon & Kaylee

Title: Asking You - part 2 - Simon and Kaylee  
Summary: Three tenses, three people and three marriage proposals. (2/3)   
Rating: G   
Characters: Simon and Kaylee   
Pairing: Kaylee/Simon; Het   
Warning: None really.   
Spoilers/Timeline: Set post-movie.   
Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly.   
Author's Notes: This one is a bit of a continuation of my drabble _The Delicate Politics of Authorization_, but it's not really necessary to have read that one first. Oh god, the fluff.

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_Part II - Simon and Kaylee_

Simon looks for Kaylee in the engine room first, but, almost surprisingly, she's not there. He can still here Mal's parting words in his head, "_Just remember to breathe. Think she'll find it a mite odd if you pass out while askin' her_..." and they aren't helping his confidence.

He's never been this nervous before. Not before any tests in school, not before his first real surgery, not before he left to break River out of the government lab - never. He's been scared before - terrified, though never completely out of his wits - but those are two different things. Now the feeling is definitely 'nervous'. His hands are sweating slightly and the trip from the engine room to the cargo bay seems to take forever. Hell, if she says yes he'll probably drop the ring while trying to put it on her finger.

He finally finds her in the small common area outside the infirmary. She has a box of tools with her and is tinkering with some circuits or something that had been hidden by the couch.

"Kaylee," he says, clears his throat and tries again. "Kaylee."

"Simon," she says when she sees him. She climbs out from behind the couch and stands next to him, smiling. "What'd you want?"

"I just..." He clasps his hands and then pulls them apart.

Her grin fades slightly. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he says quickly. "Nothing wrong. Not at all. I just..."

Kaylee turns her head slightly. "You just what?"

He draws a breath. _This is it, Simon Tam_, he tells himself. _Do it_.

Slowly, he gets down on one knee and takes her hand.

"Kaywinnit Lee Frye," he says, "will you marry me?"

There's a pause where she just stares at him and then Kaylee gives a sound that's somewhere between a shriek and a squeal and practically throws herself at him.

"So," Simon says almost uncertainly, as he tries to steady himself. "That's a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes!"

He reaches for her left hand, but she grabs him and pulls him into a kiss before he can put the ring anywhere near her finger.

They tumble backwards and hit the ground in a way that's jarring and barely noticeable. It's then that it hits him: he's kissing the woman he's going to marry.

Simon reaches up and places a hand on her face. The other arm is already wrapped around her and he pulls her closer.

He drops the ring then, but it's not because of nerves.

_Fin_

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Thoughts? Comments? Criticism? Love to get reviews. 


	8. Asking You part 3 Mal & Inara

Title: Asking You - part 3 - Mal and Inara  
Author: Krypton288   
Summary: Three tenses, three people and three marriage proposals. (3/3)   
Rating: PG   
Characters: Mal and Inara   
Pairing: Mal/Inara; Het   
Warning: passing mention of a BDM spoiler   
Spoilers/Timeline: Set post-movie, passing mention of _the_ spoiler.   
Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly.   
Author's Notes: Here's the last part. Hope people have enjoyed this little series. It's amazing how long one piece will hang around, refusing to work and then one day, in the space of a few hours, all fall into place.

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_Part III - Mal and Inara_

You'll want to marry her, but not know how to ask. The relationship won't be easy. It's not that anything in either of your lives ever has been.

Sometimes it'll seem that everything you have now is defined by what you could both manage to give then. On the bad days it'll feel like you're still back at the very beginning when your personalities brushed up against each other, rough and abrasive. It'll still come down that: everything that once was. Old barriers, old insecurities, and old arguments. Some will be surpassed, forgotten or ignored. Others won't be. You won't call her _whore_ unless you're furious at her and she won't call you _petty_ unless she is. Your arguments will be even worse than they were before you were together. They'll be harder and louder and often leave her in tears and you storming about Serenity in such a guilty rage that it'll set the entire crew on edge.

You'll be insecure at times and jealous, though trying not to be. You'll break yourself trying to be what you'll think she wants, and sometimes it'll be trying to be what she won't want, but mostly trying to be both at the same time.

You'll be in love, but that won't mean that either of you will change who you are for the other. She won't stop being a companion. You'll be sorely tempted to demand that she choose between her career and you, but ultimately you won't. To ask her to stop would be to ask her to change the very core of her being, you'll know that. It's what she trained to be for years of her life. It's how she's defined herself. You'll wish she wouldn't have to, but you'll understand. There are parts of your life that you'll need. You'll never be able to give up Serenity for her.

It'll hurt you every time you'll see her take a client to her bed, but it'll hurt her every time she'll watch you go out on a job that you may not come back from, so you'll suppose it's a fair trade. It'll hurt most of all to see her think that being a companion is the only way she has worth.

You'll have been in love with her for so long. Not much will change, but you'll know that you're not just in love anymore. You'll love her as well. There's a difference.

She'll be there beside you and make you feel that life really is worth living after all. You thought you had found home the moment you saw Serenity sitting there on the hill. You never thought you'd find a second home in someone's arms.

The only bed you'll sleep together in is yours. Hers may be larger and more comfortable, but it'll still be the place for her clients and neither of you will really want you there.

Sometimes your upbringing will raise its head and you'll feel a twinge of guilt at having such a relationship. It'll go against many of the morals your mother taught you, but you won't let it bother you. It's not like you haven't had this type of sinful relationship before. Though this time it won't be like that by your choice. You'd marry her if you could.

You'll watch as she plays with the children that Simon and Kaylee had and all you'll be able to think of are the children that Zoe and Wash never got to have and the children that you won't have. She's beautiful all the time, but she'll be especially so when with the children. She'll always have a nurturing spirit. Sometime you'll take her in your arms and let yourself believe for a moment that she's your wife and the child she's holding is yours and everything that's ever stood between you is gone. You'll try to avoid that. All it'll do is make you ache when you remember that it will never be true.

Unfortunately, that won't stop you from wishing. You'll want to get down on your knee and give her one of those rings that they wear in the core like Simon did for Kaylee. Or perhaps take her out for a fancy dinner like Wash and Zoe did. One thing that'll stop you is the thought that her clients - even the poorest of them - would buy her trinkets that you won't be able to afford even if you saved for a year. You'll know that she wouldn't care, but you'll want to measure up anyway.

You finally will ask her, but you won't do it fancy or proper like you'll intend. Instead you'll just breathe the words, _Marry me,_ in her ear as she sits on the bed beside you. She'll give you a small, poignant smile that will mean both '_yes_' and '_no_' at the same time. Marriage won't be something you'll be able to have with her because it won't be something she'll be able to have at all. Instead, she'll draw you up into her arms and hold you so close that you could be one being for all the distance that will be between you.

Despite the differences between the two of you, you'll both be used to living in a world where you must live with what you have, what you can get and what you can afford to give.

This will have to be enough. And despite the moments when you'll want more, this will be enough.

_Fin_

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Thoughts? Comments? Criticism? Love to get reviews. 


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